Engineering the intangibles in Saatsuma’s ‘Isolate’ clip

Each week, we select one artist to feature as our Spotlight Artist. This week, we chose SAATSUMA. Check out more Spotlight Artists here.

Melbourne electronica project SAATSUMA has relinquished their soothing sounds into the hands of the duo’s own MEMPHIS KELLY and enlisted the help of MADDY KELLY, BRYCE PADOVAN and TOM CHAPMAN to bring you what may be the finest piece of feels engineering of 2017 so far.

In the age of the selfie, it’s safe to say we are more aware of the way we look than we ever have been. It’s apparently quite easy to get lost within the realm of self-reflection and self-acceptance, and focus too much on one and lose touch with the other.

This is a feeling that has been thrust to the heart of Melbourne electronica duo Saatsuma and has been expressed by their creative friends in a cavernous selection of the purest metaphorical imagery known to man.

The song touches on the idea that the more complacency that enters our life and the more we distance ourselves from the truth, the worse our situation gets. It is a common tendency to avoid honest self-reflection in the pumped up, often fake society we live in. Through all the judgement, comes deeper awareness of our mirrored reflection, but does not always allow for a deeper awareness to what’s actually going on.

Shown in this clip, a young woman standing in front of a tall, slender mirror. As she stares deeper, acknowledging her reflection, the mirror begins dripping tears of water down its face. The stream intensifies until the woman can no longer see her reflection. At the peak of the waters strength and her reflection’s distortion, she is absorbed into the mirrors abstract realm of loneliness. Perhaps as a metaphor for becoming a mere reflection of ourself, or being so consumed with our reflection that the false reality consumes us and we lose contact with the outside world, where the truth exists, this clip touches on something really special.

The power of the water’s stream continues until she cannot make out a reflection at all, bringing full circle the idea that if left alone, our internal problems grow like wild fire and can be mislead to the point where you no longer recognise your own reflection.

The use of imagery in this piece could have a number of different meanings, and as per the beauty of art we may never know the full story, but if it’s food for thought you’re searching for, take a few moments to reflect upon this very honest, challenging look at society and ones-self in Saatsuma‘s latest release ‘ISOLATE’.